Can CBN Governor Get It Right?

The human intellect has been hallowed over the years. Celebrated for inventing and advancing useful technologies, the intellect has been idolised as a transformative agent. But set against the seeming successive failures of Yemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), intellect seems to lose its power in the face of hazy conditions such as those buffeting the Nigerian economy.

Cardoso, a man renowned for his financial smarts and vision, is gradually turning into the next subject of ridicule on social media. Initially cast as the next saviour of the economy, alongside President Bola Tinubu, Cardoso is now being dragged online for policies that appear to worsen the matter of the naira’s value against the dollar.

At the close of January 2024, the naira plunged in value against the dollar, matching the latter at a ratio of around N1,500 to $1. The value of the Nigerian currency has never fallen so far, inspiring online protests against Cardoso’s policymaking and initiatives. But if Cardoso’s decisions cannot change the outcome of the naira against the dollar, what next?

Such questions are beginning to feature in ordinary conversations across the nation. The main thing is that Cardoso arrived at his CBN position with pomp, riding on the waves of great hope and expectation. He has also made strong moves, some of which his predecessors were afraid to even consider, thereby adding to his good points.

Unfortunately, nothing seems to be working fine. The forex market has been touched, but nothing happened. Some restrictions against the use of blockchain and virtual currencies were neutralised, but nothing happened. $500 million was infused into the economy with the promise of foreign investments, but even that could not halt the fall of the naira against the dollar.

At this point, people are attributing the failure to Cardoso. The question now arises: can he make things right again? Can he get it right by fixing the currency exchange problem and returning the naira to a useful currency outside the shores of the country? Time will tell.